Vivian Maier

I’ve never been cutting edge—on anything, really.  I’m almost always so far behind the cultural curve that the beginning is long out of sight.  But recently, I can say I was there at the beginning of something that, or so it seems, is important: the discovery of a “new” artist, Vivian Maier.

“New” is in quotation marks as the great street photographer was totally unknown until after her death.  She was discovered by John Maloof when he bought a box of negatives from a storage space that was being auctioned.  He didn’t realize what he had at first, but once he got into the negatives, he realized that here was a true artist with the camera.  He went back and searched for the buyers of other boxes, bought them, and eventually ended up with over 100,000 photographs, many—perhaps even most—of a remarkably high quality.  Maloof didn’t really know what to do with them, but he had some high quality prints made, framed them, and talked the Chicago Cultural Center into showing them.  The show was a huge success, the biggest exhibit in the Cultural Center’s history.

And that’s where I come in: I saw an article about the exhibit at the Cultural Center and went to see it with my good buddy Roger.  We were astonished at these photos—and the story behind them, and I have become a fan of this talented woman, visiting all three of the exhibitions held here in Chicago.  Vivian Maier was a nanny in New York City and Chicago.  She never had an exhibit; apparently, she never shared her photos, many of which were still undeveloped, and she died in obscurity.  Without the foresight of John Maloof, these photos might have been lost or destroyed.

And now Maloof has made a documentary film about Vivian Maier: Finding Vivian Maier.  It’s a brilliant film and I encourage everyone with any interest in photography to see it.  The film’s web site is http://www.findingvivianmaier.com/.  And the web site devoted to her photos is http://www.vivianmaier.com/.

With shows around the world and news stories on the major networks and in all the major papers, Maier is no longer unknown.  And I was there for the very first exhibit.